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Once in a lifetime experiences #travellinkup

First of all, I’d like to say how happy I am to be this month’s co-host of travel linkup with Emma, Angie and Polly!

Have you ever swum with the sharks? Or visited Machu Pichu? What about running with the bulls in Spain or seeing the Northern Lights? You haven’t done those? Neither have I. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have valuable once in a lifetime experiences. Perhaps some of them might seem ordinary to someone else, like they are not really once in a lifetime experiences but to me they were just that. Unique experiences that represented me, who I was at the time I had them.

Sure, I could do some of them again but it wouldn’t be quite the same (e.g. spend a week in Paris again ) because I am not the same anymore. Time and life (and travel too) has changed me.

in Paris in 2007

So what travels stand out among all the others? And what has made them so special?

There are two trips that come to my mind immediately not just because of the amount of fun I had on them but also because of the very travelling bit that made them extra special. In 2005 I went to Turkey with a group of friends by train. Yes, you read that right! It was the cheapest available option so we took the train from Croatia to Turkey via Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. 36 h on the train (not in a sleeper train) and we made it to Istanbul for three days of sightseeing. Then it was to Izmir for the next three days of fun before we finally came to Çeşme where we attended a student conference.

Another odyssey happened in 2006 when I went to Greece by a ferry from Venice. Well, firstly we had to get to Venice, then spend 30 h on the ferry to Patras and take a train to Athens, our final destination. After 2 weeks of frolicking around Greece it was time for a return ferry trip, sleeping on the deck in our sleeping bags again. That’s an experience I wouldn’t repeat again!

Quite another experience was my time in England after I graduated. I’ve dreamt about England for as long as I can remember and then I got an internship and went to work in Suffolk, England. During that short time I took several day trips by myself and met my best friend in London. I also fell in love and had a long distance relationship after my work experience finished. I have good and bad memories of my time in England but I don’t regret anything (almost!). That life experience in England changed me profoundly.

living in England, BSE

Every trip I ever took was special to me because of the fun I had, the person I shared my trip with, or a town I fell in love with. So just to list a few other once in a lifetime experiences too: dancing with a professional Brazilian dancer on a beach in Italy, welcoming New Year’s in the streets of Madrid by eating grapes as the clock struck midnight, being in Venice for the carnival, the most perfect day trip to Bruges, watching my husband win at a roulette in Monte Carlo Casino, honeymoon in Portugal, eating Sacher cake at Hotel Sacher in Vienna and many, many more.

with my husband in Bruges, 2015

Of course, there are a lot of London special moments too. Like when I almost bumped into Emma Thompson two years ago when I spent 3 days in London on my own. 🙂 I am sure future London trips will bring more once in a lifetime experiences…

And here I am, writing this while my baby boy V. is looking at me. Having him is once in a lifetime experience too 🙂

The February topic is rather special – once in a lifetime experiences. The one/s that still makes your heart skip a beat, the time your eyes gleam remembering or maybe the one that makes your knees knock when you think about it…

As ever there are no real rules – basically all we ask is that you check out some of the other cool bloggers that are involved in that months travel link up; tweet a few of the posts out to your followers that you think they will love and make a few comments here and there. It really is a great way to meet some new travel bloggers and share some blogging joy!

The Travel Link Up is open to all bloggers as long as the post is relevant.

Hi Tanja
Thanks for co-hosting the #travellinkup this month. I had fun writing my post.
I can’t dance, but I sure would love to have a go with a Brazilian dancer on a beach! And yes, your baby boy of course comes No 1 in the list!

What a lovely post, Tanja – this is one of my favorites of yours! 36 hours on a train to Turkey with your girlfriends actually sounds pretty fun to me! And all your other experiences as well. I love how Baby V got in there at the end too 😉

I’ve enjoyed (almost choked lol) on grapes in Madrid on New Years too… and then we were silly enough to do it again in Seville the following year! I completely agree with you – once in a lifetime experiences don’t have to be those big ticket ones… anything that leaves a lasting impression is ‘once in a lifetime’ to me!

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